In this episode of Unqualified Leads, we break down a real-world paid media experiment that challenges one of the most common assumptions in marketing: spend more equals more growth.

After increasing Meta ad spend by 25%, revenue only grew marginally - and media efficiency dropped. On the surface, platform performance looked strong. But once we analysed the data across CRM, GA4, and attribution layers, it became clear that the issue wasn’t acquisition - it was something much deeper.

This episode is designed as a practical podcast for marketing teams, founders, and operators looking to scale paid media without losing efficiency. We walk through how to properly analyse performance across channels and why relying on in-platform metrics alone can lead to the wrong conclusions.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why increasing ad spend doesn’t scale revenue linearly
• How to use media efficiency ratio (MER) to evaluate true performance
• The impact of retention, repeat purchase rate, and lifetime value on growth
• Why revenue lag can distort performance in longer sales cycles
• What incrementality data reveals about wasted spend
• How to diagnose performance across Meta, Google, GA4, and CRM data
• Why marketers must take a top-down approach to analysis, not just channel-level reporting

This is a b2b marketing podcast episode focused on real data, real testing, and real decision-making. It’s particularly relevant for b2b marketing leadership, growth teams, and anyone responsible for scaling paid media budgets.

If you’re running paid media, managing marketing budgets, or trying to improve business performance, this is a business growth podcast episode that will help you think more strategically about where your growth is actually coming from.

Hosts:

Daniel Hughes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-h-771904141/

Harry Hughes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-hughes-6409b163/

https://www.mayfair-mediagroup.com/

In this episode of Unqualified Leads, Harry Hughes and Dan Hughes break down their core approach to Google Ads for B2B lead generation. From auditing a new account to structuring campaigns for scale, this episode covers the practical frameworks they use to build, manage and optimise Google Ads accounts that are focused on generating qualified pipeline, not just cheap clicks.

They start with the foundation of every strong Google Ads account: conversion tracking. Harry explains why the first place he checks in any account is the conversion setup, how to think about primary vs secondary conversion actions, and why so many businesses damage performance by optimising for the wrong event. The conversation also covers enhanced conversions, consent mode v2, and why offline conversion imports from HubSpot or your CRM are essential if you want Google to optimise towards SQLs, opportunities and closed revenue rather than shallow lead volume.

From there, they move into Google Ads account structure and explain how to think about campaigns by geo, service, product, and intent. They unpack why campaign design is not one-size-fits-all, but why clean structure, thematic ad groups, and clear separation between brand and non-brand search are non-negotiable. Harry also explains why your brand campaign should always sit separately from your generic campaigns, and why allowing brand traffic to leak into non-brand campaigns distorts performance and wastes budget.

The episode also covers bidding strategies in Google Ads, including when to use Max Conversions, where tCPA and tROAS can make sense, and why Harry typically prefers to avoid overcomplicating bidding too early. They also touch on manual CPC and search impression share for brand campaigns, and explain why Google rep recommendations are not always the right move for your business.

You will also hear their views on:

• Google Ads audits for B2B lead gen
• How to structure campaigns around service lines or search intent
• Why exact match vs phrase match should be determined by the size of your search pool
• When broad match and AI Max may or may not make sense
• Why competitor campaigns often fail without the right landing page strategy
• How to think about PMAX, Demand Gen and Display campaigns in lead gen accounts
• Why negative keyword discipline and regular search term analysis are critical
• The importance of balancing account consolidation with the need for spend control

If you run Google Ads for a B2B company, a lead generation business, or you manage paid media for clients and want a clearer framework for how to structure, optimise and scale search campaigns, this episode is a strong introduction to the systems Harry and Dan use in real accounts.

Hosts:

Daniel Hughes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-h-771904141/

Harry Hughes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-hughes-6409b163/

https://www.mayfair-mediagroup.com/

In this episode of Unqualified Leads, Harry Hughes and Dan Hughes unpack the real difference between demand capture vs demand generation, and why most B2B marketing teams measure it the wrong way.

If your business is relying heavily on Google Ads / paid search to “prove” ROI, or you’re stuck in the cycle of switching budget between LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads and Google based purely on in-platform CPA… this episode is for you. Harry and Dan explain why this approach often leads to short-sighted decisions, under-investment in brand, and an over-reliance on last-click attribution that doesn’t reflect how modern B2B buyers actually behave.

They break down the common attribution trap: when Meta and LinkedIn generate awareness and intent, but Google “wins” the credit because it captures the final click. You’ll learn why B2B buying journeys are non-linear, how channels influence each other, and why judging performance purely at a channel level can cause businesses to turn off the very campaigns that are improving results elsewhere.

Key topics covered:

• Demand capture marketing (capturing existing intent) vs demand generation (creating future intent)
• Why “Meta doesn’t work” and “LinkedIn doesn’t work” is often a measurement problem — not a channel problem
• How to report performance using blended metrics (blended CAC, blended CPL, pipeline and revenue) instead of siloed channel reporting
• Why demand gen requires time, trust, and stakeholder education, especially in high-consideration B2B
• The role of leading indicators vs lagging indicators (engagement, dwell time, audience penetration, site behaviour, account-level intent signals)
• How to improve measurement using UTM frameworks (first-touch, last-touch, conversion-touch), self-reported attribution (SRA), CRM notes, call transcripts, and qualitative data
• Why short runways and pressure for immediate ROI push teams into capture-only strategies — and why that approach plateaus

If you’re a founder, CMO, Head of Growth, or performance marketer trying to scale pipeline while reducing CAC, this conversation will help you build a smarter omnichannel B2B growth strategy — one that reflects how buyers research, evaluate, and choose vendors today.

Hosts:

Daniel Hughes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-h-771904141/

Harry Hughes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-hughes-6409b163/

Mayfair Media Group: https://www.mayfair-mediagroup.com/